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D ECEMBER 21/D ECEMBER 28, 2011
P ORTLAND , O REGON V OLuME XXXIII, N O . 60
25
CENTS
i nsiDE
H av e
a safe
H o l i d ay
page 2,3
Pet Health
page 4
Bids and Classifieds
C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow
ETAP: Job
Training at
PCC
Faces
page 11
Happy Holidays
Program seeks more
students interested in
construction work
The importance of learning the trades has
not been stressed enough in the black com-
munity, says Portland Community College
instructor Eddie Lincoln.
"Learning the trades gives recipients skills
to remodel and repair their own homes," he
says. "They can take these skills and be
competitive for city and county contracts in
the construction industry. It offers high pay-
ing jobs with exceptional benefits."
Lincoln, coordinator of the Excellence in
Trades and Apprenticeship Preparation
(ETAP) program at PCC, hopes to get more
students interested in the opportunity trade
work provides.
According to the 2011 City of Portland
and Portland Development Commission
Disparity Study, only six percent of the
firms available for City construction and
construction related service work are minor-
ity owned. In addition, the study says 1.9
percent of City construction contract dollars
are expected to go to minority owned firms.
Lincoln says learning the trades can bene-
fit the black community in particular
because when a construction trade business
opens, it gives a person the opportunity to
employ and train people from his/her com-
munity.
"When someone gets a contract they are in
a position to improve the economic situation
of the people they trade with," says Lincoln.
"It gives them the ability to stimulate eco-
nomic growth because money spent in the
community stays in the community."
Many Portland schools don't have voca-
tional training and others are cutting back
due to budget shortfalls.
According to Lincoln, part of ETAP is a
primary focus on outreach to high school
seniors. The program is state certified with
the Bureau of Labor and works with
Portland Public Schools, faith based organi-
zations and nonprofit groups.
It is also a paid apprenticeship, which lasts
for three to four years.
"You can have a really good career with-
out going into debt," says Lincoln. "You
earn while you learn."
see ETaP on page 8
inDEX
News ................2,3,5,6
Opinion .....................4
Bids/Classifieds ........11
H av e
a safe
H o l i d ay
PHOTO BY Lisa LOving
By Bruce Poinsette
special To The Skanner News
Multnomah County Sheriffs Honor Guard Deputy Lee DeLaGarza enjoys chatting with a kid at the Community
Transitional School holiday party hosted for the 23rd year by the sheriffs department. Almost 100 kids received toys,
books and clothes courtesy of sheriff’s department employees, as well as pizza, fruit and a comedy juggling show.
When Santa arrived at the party, the room went wild.
White Extremist Violence on the Rise
Experts Say 2011 a Big Year for Pacific Northwest Violence
By nicholas k. geranios
The associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -
They exist in the margins of the
Pacific Northwest.
Some are white supremacists.
Some are anti-Semites. Some
are anti-government. Many are
all of the above.
Sometimes their margins are
literal, as they live in small
towns near the vast forests that
dominate this region. Almost
always their margins are social,
as many are unemployed, or
underemployed, and live alone.
Every now and then, one
breaks from the margins and
creates a public spectacle.
The latest incident occurred
last week as a house in
Washougal, Wash., burned to
the ground while someone
inside shot at firefighters to
keep them away. The homeown-
er has been identified as a self-
proclaimed white separatist.
It was one of numerous inci-
dents this year in which extrem-
ists of various kinds made news
in Washington, Oregon, Idaho
and Montana.
The crimes involved a white
supremacist couple charged in a
three-state killing spree; an
attempted bombing at the
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
parade in Spokane; and a former
militia member who opened fire
on deputies in Montana and
vanished into a forest.
To be sure, the perpetrators
are by no means representative
of the broader, law-abiding pop-
ulation in the Pacific Northwest.
But they are part of a trend that
has seen extremist activity on
the rise nationally. The region
has also been the base for some
of the highest-profile ones,
including the Aryan Nations and
the Militia of Montana.
Travis McAdam of the
see aTTacks on page 5
‘Portland Memorials’ Lists City Histories
Depicted in Park Benches, Fountains, and More
By Lisa Loving
Of The Skanner News
Portland writer Trevor Blake’s book,
“Portland Memorials,” is a compilation of
historical markers to be found by walking
through the downtown area. Sound simple?
Consider that the author must at some points
have practically crawled on his hands and
knees to transcribe dates and names from
the hundreds of “plaques, buildings, statues,
benches and fountains” that were grist for
his investigations. He even discovered that a
few memorials touching on Black history
were likely thrown into the Willamette
River. The Skanner News traded electronic
letters with Blake to get his story on how,
and why, Portland has chosen to remember
its past.
The skanner news: Trevor what made
you want to put this book together?
Trevor Blake: I wrote Portland
Memorials for three reasons. The first rea-
son is an echo of one of the memorials
found in the book. The Shemanski Fountain
is located at the north end of the South Park
Blocks. It was a gift to the city by Portland
shopkeeper Joseph Shemanski (1869-1951)
in 1926. Shemanski gave the fountain to the
city "to express in small measure gratitude
for what the city has done for me." And that
is exactly the reason I have written Portland
Memorials. I moved to Portland in 1992
and the city has given me as many opportu-
nities, experiences and challenges as anyone
could ask for. The second reason is writing
a book is a good way to learn a subject, and
I wanted to learn more about the architec-
ture and history of Portland. The third rea-
son is it provided some good exercise for
see HisTOrY on page 10